Top Environment News

THE REGION Southwest Alaska sea otters get habitat protection: Four years after being placed on the Endangered Species List, the dwindling sea otters of southwest Alaska on Wednesday were given an important recovery tool as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated almost 5,900 square miles as critical habitat in the Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea and Alaska Peninsula. The Associated Press' report

Trial Islands are a green gem for British Columbia: Not just a lighthouse and radio tower base, Trial Islands off McNeill Bay is also a threatened ecological reserve. The renowned ecological reserve is home to more than 300 plant species, many which disappeared from throughout the region after European settlement. The Oak Bay News' report

Suit filed against Seattle waterfront tunnel: A lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court contends the state Transportation Department is breaking environmental laws by going ahead with a plan to replace Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel. The Associated Press' report

Clean bill of health for Nisqually Bay area shellfish: Farmers, homeowners and health officials have turned back the tide of pollution near the mouth of the Nisqually River. By the end of this month, the entire area should be back in an approved status for harvesting clams, oysters and geoducks, state health officials said. The Olympian's report

THE NATION & WORLD Salazar presents ambitious plan to manage wild horses: The government plans to aggressively sterilize wild horses and transplant thousands to new public preserves in the Midwest and East as a solution to the nearly 40-year-old problem of how to manage the exploding numbers of wild horses in the West, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said. The Washington Post's report

Senior G77 members protest steps to change Kyoto pact: Senior G77 members walked out of a meeting during climate talks in the Thai capital, saying they would not discuss a future without the Kyoto Protocol climate pact, delegates said Wednesday. Reuters' report

Green shoots rise from brownfields: The United States looks to eliminate the biggest hurdle to expanding renewable energy -- the need for suitable sites to place commercial-scale wind and solar farms -- by reusing hundreds of old mines, landfills and industrial sites. The Daily Climate's report